One57’s Crane of Damocles: crews waiting for winds to pass before fixing boom

Oct 30, 2012

0Shares

The partly collapsed crane at Midtown luxury condo One57 is still dangling 1,000 feet over West 57th Street after the boom dramatically snapped back from storm gusts Monday afternoon.

Developer Gary Barnett said that the 90-story tower’s construction manager at Bovis Lend Lease was waiting for dangerously windy conditions to pass before attempting to stabilize the breakaway boom at 157 W. 57th St., Crain’s reported.

“Hopefully it will hold,” Barnett told Crain’s. “As soon as we’re allowed we’re going to try to secure it and take it down. Right now the wind is still too strong. Everything that can be done is being done.”

The crane partially crumpled 75 floors up on Monday around 2:35 p.m., dripping glass and debris onto West 56th Street. No injuries were reported. Emergency responders closed West 57th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues and evacuated nearby buildings. About 900 guests at the Le Parker Meriden Hotel at West 56th Street and 6th Avenue had to leave.

The steam and electricity were shut off in the area as a safety precaution, mayor Michael Bloomberg announced at Monday night’s press conference. “The last report I’ve gotten is the main tower seems to be well secured to the building; the only part that is in danger of falling, we think, is the boom,” he said, adding that Barnett “and his staff are cooperating fully.”

The crane had been inspected on Friday and had passed muster then, Bloomberg said. “Just because it was inspected, that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t do things or that metal doesn’t fail. There’s no reason to think at this point in time that the inspection wasn’t adequate.”